1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management system for the maintenance, management, control, service and the like of an air conditioner used in a composite facility such as a building and shop, and to a converter unit used for the management system. The converter unit is particularly suitable for Ethernet (registered trademark of Xerox Corporation in USA, network medium whose specifications are stipulated by IEEE) of the BACnet specification which is standardizing a communication protocol for a building management system (A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks: ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-1995).
For multi air conditioners in building and the like, large system requirements, energy savings, management cost savings, new services, new needs and the like are highly concerned. Control information and the like of an air conditioner are now used in an open network system. For example, as described in JP-A-9-79654, running data of an air conditioner is transmitted via a gateway to a network to perform diagnosis of a running state, control and the like of the air conditioner at a centralized controller. For example, as described in JP-A-11-230602, information on a running state of an air conditioner is collected and allowed to be browsed via the Internet.
According to the above-described conventional techniques, since control information and the like of an air conditioner are used in an open network, there is a close affinity with standardization and building facilities. However, it is still not satisfactory in terms of changing a small management system to a large system with expected investment effects, system configuration, satisfying various user needs, system sharing, feasibility of system expansion and the like.